We are Thankful for all our members and the community we have forged that continues to amaze us each day. Here is a story from Denise Kunisch. Post what you are Thankful for to the Comments.

This past year has been a challenging one for me, to say the least. The death of a very close family member, my Mother-in-law’s battle with cancer, & and the betrayal of a close friend hit me all at once. As the mother of 3 young children who demand a lot from me, it seemed the best thing to do was to brush it all under the rug & leave it up to CrossFit, running, & triathlons to do what they’ve always done.....make me feel good. As it turns out, it was too much to ask of myself physically because all of that stuff under the rug was really on my shoulders. The results of trying to out-train my troubles left me feeling tired & defeated. I suspect this is not an uncommon occurrence among us CrossFitters, who face adversity head on & power through it. So I wanted to share my experience with doing too much, taking some big steps back, & what I have gained from it moving forward. On August 12th, 2012 I woke up at 4:00am, packed up my gear & set off for Camp Buckner to compete in the West Point/ Army Triathlon. My time last year was 1:43:31. This year I was going to do it in 1:35:00. Last year just doing it was enough. This year the clock mattered. I had been lifting, running, biking, swimming 7 days a week for months & I needed to see the results of my hard work on that clock. While I was setting up my transition area, they announced the water temp was 80 degrees making wetsuits illegal. If you opted to wear one, you were not eligible to place. I put mine on. I started towards the lake then turned around & took it off. I thought what if by some miracle, I place? What if I could go home & tell everyone I came in on top? How would that make me feel? Powerful, in control, strong, happy? My sadness & anxiety over the years events would surely disappear if I could succeed that day. That was a lot of pressure to put on myself.... a lot to ask of this sport. And so I swam, biked, & ran & didn’t enjoy it one bit. The year before I loved every moment of it. It was adventurous & the people competing alongside me inspiring. I finished so full of pride & excitement. This year I finished feeling empty. I got a drink & stood by the results board hoping I had at least hit 1:35:00. So when I saw the 1:41:51 my eyes welled up with tears & I walked off. I drove home that day planning what I could do to work harder, determined to get up at 4:30am & hit crossfit the next day, which I did. The following day I did 2 WODs. 100 burpees + 200 du’s in the am & Grace in the pm. & so on & so on. All the while, getting slower & weaker, tired & run down, resenting those getting faster & stronger, & wanting to give up. It was the same experience with the CrossFit festivus competition. I never gave myself credit for what I did do that day but left feeling angry & disappointed in myself. And now the thing that always made me feel good was becoming a source of stress & frustration. Despite this, I was convinced slowing down would make me feel even worse. Fortunately, there was an outsider looking in who took a few minutes to point out what was eluding me. I needed to just stop. I remember very clearly the day my CrossFit coach approached me to discuss my decreasing performance. That conversation meant & will always mean a great deal to me because , at a time when I felt like life was working against me, It reminded me that I am a part of a community of people who care, people who notice when we are struggling & need a little help. He said, “ there are a lot of things in life that will stress you out. This should NOT be one of them.” So it was suggested I do a de-load week. No WOD’s, no running, just mobility & some strength. I left that day feeling relieved & hopeful. This was the beginning of me coming to understand that this wasn’t about my abilities as an athlete or my will to succeed. It was the beginning of me understanding that our bodies perceive stress no different physically then emotionally or any other stressor in life. The stress in my life outside of the gym was affecting my body in much the same way as my intensive workouts making it all simply too much. Thinking back on some of those 30 mile rides & 10 mile runs, that time would’ve been better spent sitting on a rock by a lake just taking some deep breaths. I have come to respect how my life outside of the gym affects my performance in the gym & vice versa. I am learning to find the balance & give equal weight to my physical & emotional health. Most importantly, I am learning that sometimes a few steps back are just what you need to keep moving forward......& I’m loving CrossFit more than ever...especially watching others succeed, overcoming fears, & doing things they never imagined they could do. That’s really the heart of it for me & it feels good to be back. :) “Everything that isn’t exercise is recuperation, but for me the benefits of off time come not from enhancing athletic performance but from enhancing life. Exercise, fitness, sport, and even health are only important in that they serve a broader purpose – life.” -Greg Glassman